We just finished a 3 week trip starting with 4 nts in Paris then 2 wks in Corsica and ending with 4 nts in Nice. There is a serious void of information on Corsica so I thought I would share some observations and tips here for anyone interested in exploring this incredible, beautiful place.
First, Corsica is very easy to get to by plane or ferry from France or Italy, just as sunny as the French or Italian Riviera, and much less expensive. Tip: use Google Flights to watch fares for your preferred flight on Air Corsica. They don't release their schedule far in advance and once released prices are a little high, but set an alert and wait to buy once the price drops. We flew Paris Orly to Bastia (90 mins) coming in and Bastia to Nice (45 mins) leaving.
You must know a little French to get by. We were told repeatedly, everywhere we went, that Americans are very rare here. Sometimes they get folks from the UK, but even then not that often. So there are not that many natives here who speak English. We even had difficulty at some of the tourism information offices, including the one in Ajaccio, the biggest city on the island. I studied French in high school and college and brushed up with Duolingo for this trip so we were able to get by.
Getting around without a car is difficult, highly recommend renting a car if your itinerary will take you between locations. Driving is easy, very similar to driving in the French or Italian countryside. Lots of narrow, winding roads, there are no auto-routes here. While it may be a short distance between locations, it takes extra time because of the roads. Tip: there are often pull-outs along the road, use them if someone is following too closely for your comfort. The other driver will often give you a honk when you do this, this is the Corsican thank you.
You can only rent electric vehicles on the island. There are lots of charging stations available but it takes time to find them along your route. Additionally only 1 of the 6 places we stayed had a charger available on-site. We found that e-motum had the best fast charging options and app to locate chargers. However sometimes they were in gated pay lots - so you have to pay for parking and also the charge - and we also ran into issues with people parking and blocking the chargers even though they clearly didn't have an EV. Driving an EV is also a bit of a learning curve if you've never driven one before. So do some research on driving and charging electric vehicles beforehand. It was inexpensive though, I got a Renault Megane through Hertz for €298 for 2 weeks.
October is the off season here which means it is cheaper yet still warm for those of us used to colder climates. However many hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions close starting around October 1. Also we found that often the weather is perfect in the morning but by 2 or so the high winds, clouds, and sometimes rain come in. My 3 biggest items that I wanted to do while I was here: (1) eat the local fresh lobster in Centuri (famous there), (2) sunset cruises out of Bonifacio and Ajaccio, and (3) swim in the sea. Well lobster season ends September 30 so you can't buy it anywhere after that. Most boat excursions were closed, expecially in the afternoon. And the waves were so high because of the winds that swimming was not advisable. These are all things I could have figured out with a good guidebook but alas there is not one that I could find. So consider this if you're going off-season. (It is very cheap tho, most hotels we stayed at were 3 star and I booked the premium rooms with terrace and ocean view and cost was <€100/night. That's hard to find on the French or Italian Riviera!)
I will continue in part 2 because I'm too wordy. :)